Thursday, October 23
Cookeville, Tenn.
6 p.m.
UT Martin
2-18,1-8OVC
2
at
3
Tennessee Tech
8-13,5-4OVC
1
2
3
4
5
F
UT Martin
26
30
22
22
12
2
Tennessee Tech
24
28
25
25
15
3
UT Martin Drops 3-2 Heartbreaker At Tennessee Tech
10/23/2025 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team got off to a blazing start this evening at Tennessee Tech but the host Golden Eagles rallied to hand the Skyhawks a five-set loss (26-24, 30-28, 22-25, 22-25, 12-15) at the Eblen Center.
A trio of UT Martin players recorded double-doubles tonight, led by Kayla Bryant's team-highs of 19 kills and 18 digs. The 19 kills were a career-best tally for the senior outside hitter from Louisville, Ky. Kylie Surratt (14 kills, 12 digs) and Ava Peters (39 assists, 13 digs) also had strong performances both offensively and defensively.
Abby Freund (17 digs), Dylan Sulcer (12 digs) and Kristin Phillips (five blocks) additionally guided the Skyhawk defense.
Both sides jostled for momentum in the early phases of the first set before a 5-0 UT Martin run opened up a 12-8 Skyhawk advantage. Moments later, Surratt and Sienna Wnetrzak combined for four consecutive UT Martin kills before a Freund service ace stretched the Skyhawk lead out to 22-17. The Golden Eagles came back to even the score at 24-all but UT Martin recovered to take the 1-0 lead in the match. Surratt's four kills on a .375 hitting percentage led the Skyhawks in the opening set.
The second stanza featured 11 tie scores and three lead changes. Tennessee Tech scored the first three points of the set and eventually led by as many as five points (11-6) before UT Martin charged back to take control. Back-to-back Surratt kills gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the set at 15-14 and was part of a 12-3 UT Martin run. Things tightened up late as the Skyhawks fought off three set point opportunities before cashing in on their third chance at set point as a block assist by Carly Mueller and Bryant clinched the 2-0 advantage. Bryant had seven kills, a .294 attack percentage and a team-best six digs in the second set alone.
The Golden Eagles scored four of the first five points in the third stanza but another Bryant kill knotted the score at 7-7. Tennessee Tech accounted for seven of the next eight points but UT Martin kept battling, eventually pulling within one point on six separate occasions. After the Skyhawks closed their gap to 23-22, the Golden Eagles extended the match with points on back-to-back possessions. Bryant (dive kills), Sulcer (six digs) and Phillips (three blocks) paced UT Martin in the middle set.
The Skyhawks held an early lead in the fourth set but Tennessee Tech unreeled five unanswered points to claim a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the stanza. UT Martin regrouped following a timeout midway through the set, shaving a 20-11 deficit all the way down to two behind three Bryant kills in the span of five points. After the Skyhawks made the score 24-22, the Golden Eagles came away with a kill to force a decisive fifth set. Bryant's four kills in the fourth set paced UT Martin.
The Skyhawks outhit Tennessee Tech by a .227 to .154 margin in the winner-take-all fifth set but ultimately it wasn't enough. The Golden Eagles secured the first three points before a Surratt kill got UT Martin on the scoreboard. After Tennessee Tech took a 13-8 edge, three straight kills from Mueller, Surratt and Peters got the Skyhawks right back in it but the Golden Eagles soon completed their comeback. Surratt (three kills) and Bryant (six digs) performed well for UT Martin in the abbreviated fifth stanza.
These two squads conclude their two-match Ohio Valley Conference series tomorrow at 4 p.m. as the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
A trio of UT Martin players recorded double-doubles tonight, led by Kayla Bryant's team-highs of 19 kills and 18 digs. The 19 kills were a career-best tally for the senior outside hitter from Louisville, Ky. Kylie Surratt (14 kills, 12 digs) and Ava Peters (39 assists, 13 digs) also had strong performances both offensively and defensively.
Abby Freund (17 digs), Dylan Sulcer (12 digs) and Kristin Phillips (five blocks) additionally guided the Skyhawk defense.
Both sides jostled for momentum in the early phases of the first set before a 5-0 UT Martin run opened up a 12-8 Skyhawk advantage. Moments later, Surratt and Sienna Wnetrzak combined for four consecutive UT Martin kills before a Freund service ace stretched the Skyhawk lead out to 22-17. The Golden Eagles came back to even the score at 24-all but UT Martin recovered to take the 1-0 lead in the match. Surratt's four kills on a .375 hitting percentage led the Skyhawks in the opening set.
The second stanza featured 11 tie scores and three lead changes. Tennessee Tech scored the first three points of the set and eventually led by as many as five points (11-6) before UT Martin charged back to take control. Back-to-back Surratt kills gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the set at 15-14 and was part of a 12-3 UT Martin run. Things tightened up late as the Skyhawks fought off three set point opportunities before cashing in on their third chance at set point as a block assist by Carly Mueller and Bryant clinched the 2-0 advantage. Bryant had seven kills, a .294 attack percentage and a team-best six digs in the second set alone.
The Golden Eagles scored four of the first five points in the third stanza but another Bryant kill knotted the score at 7-7. Tennessee Tech accounted for seven of the next eight points but UT Martin kept battling, eventually pulling within one point on six separate occasions. After the Skyhawks closed their gap to 23-22, the Golden Eagles extended the match with points on back-to-back possessions. Bryant (dive kills), Sulcer (six digs) and Phillips (three blocks) paced UT Martin in the middle set.
The Skyhawks held an early lead in the fourth set but Tennessee Tech unreeled five unanswered points to claim a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the stanza. UT Martin regrouped following a timeout midway through the set, shaving a 20-11 deficit all the way down to two behind three Bryant kills in the span of five points. After the Skyhawks made the score 24-22, the Golden Eagles came away with a kill to force a decisive fifth set. Bryant's four kills in the fourth set paced UT Martin.
The Skyhawks outhit Tennessee Tech by a .227 to .154 margin in the winner-take-all fifth set but ultimately it wasn't enough. The Golden Eagles secured the first three points before a Surratt kill got UT Martin on the scoreboard. After Tennessee Tech took a 13-8 edge, three straight kills from Mueller, Surratt and Peters got the Skyhawks right back in it but the Golden Eagles soon completed their comeback. Surratt (three kills) and Bryant (six digs) performed well for UT Martin in the abbreviated fifth stanza.
These two squads conclude their two-match Ohio Valley Conference series tomorrow at 4 p.m. as the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UTM
TNTech
Kills
53
67
Errors
26
42
Attempts
179
198
Hitting %
.151
.126
Points
65.0
88.0
Assists
51
67
Aces
2
13
Blocks
10
8
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS/S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP
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